Why
by Uncherished Light
Summary: Zack, torn over his mentor's death, Angeal, does not know where to turn to. No one understands, not even his girlfriend Aerith. No one except Sephiroth, who is going through almost the exact same thing. But when does comforting a friend go too far?


So this is my summer project! With the prologue finished, I am going to start on the actual chapter one. But please realize that I am writing this to the storyline of the game. I only just defeated Angeal last night, so my take upon what happened is going to function with what the game tells me at the time. Basically, every time I beat a new chapter, a new chapter will appear! (So for example, if something is actually going on with Seph at the moment that the game doesn't tell me until later, then I'm not going to be able to write about it)

PS: This is my first final fantasy fic.. _ Please be nice to me...

Disclaimer: I do not own Sephiroth, Cloud, Angeal, Zack, Tseng... etc.... Though I wish I did! I do not own Square Enix, Crisis Core, or Final Fantasy VII!! And blahhh... I don't own anything except my muse, and this little section of text beneath this magical line.

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His body was surprisingly light against my bloodied torso. I could barely believe it. For such a large and powerful man as Angeal, his masculine form felt as if it was as light as one of his pure white feathers. Maybe it was his honor that had been weighing him down all these years, and with his soul gone off to the life stream, he probably took it with him.

As I trekked out of the sunset lit room that our conflict had been held, I could not stop the tears from falling from my cheeks as I carried out his body. I knew Cloud and Tseng would be outside, and it would not be the most admirable thing to cry in front of a Turk and a boy who wished to join me in SOLDIER, but no matter how many times I wiped away the blood from my cheek, and the salt from my eyes, neither liquid would stop dripping from my face. Finally, I just gave up. These were my true feelings, these of sorrow and longing. It would be a good way to show the world that those of SOLDIER were not monsters. We had emotions too!

"Zack!" I heard from a young vaguely familiar voice as I reached the edge of the building. It was Cloud, my semi-conscious mind recognized, followed by an immediate, "Are you all right?" from Tseng. I hadn't realized that my vision had been fixed on Angeal's closed eyes until I looked up at the other two men, a concerned look on each of their faces.

"Yeah," I said, though it was an obvious lie. Without even looking at a mirror, I knew that my face had already betrayed me. I could still here the constant "drip, drip, drip" of the tears and blood onto the snowy ground beneath my feet.

"Well, you don't look alright," Tseng replied in his usual tone. "I called the company a while ago, so a helicopter should be here shortly to pick us up. I'm glad I called for a medic. It's obvious that more than Mr. Strife and myself are going to need the medical aid."

"Yeah, I guess so…" I said easily, though not in my usual care-free tone. Honestly, I couldn't think of when I would honestly be able to talk like that again, though I assumed it would happen since the sound fit my personality. Or at least it used to. I sat down on the soft snow that held me like down feathers and looked back at Angeal's body. I didn't understand why he looked so old now, when he had looked so young just before our fight. Was it the over use of his ability? Maybe I would never know, but it would be something to look into. Sephiroth would probably be a good person to ask, since he had been doing all that research on "Project G" in the data room before I left.

"Is that Angeal?" I heard Cloud ask as he came over to sit in front of me.

"Yeah," I responded bleakly, "it is…" I looked back down at the man who had not only been my mentor and father figure, but also my closest friend. I was thankful he looked so peaceful in his sleep. Maybe it would give those around us the hint that I really didn't want to talk at the moment.

"He's dead, isn't he Zack?" The voice was Tseng's. Apparently he didn't want to take the suggestion.

"Uh-huh…" was all I said, not wanting to let my temperamental emotions get the best of me. I was on a mission after all, and I was supposed to be cooperative with my allies.

Thankfully, both Tseng and Cloud left it at that. They said nothing more to me until the helicopter arrived to take us back to Midgar. They even negotiated with the medical staff to continue to let me hold Angeal's body on the ride back home. Of course the meds were not happy considering that meant that they couldn't treat me, but I drank a few extra potions in front of them to assure them I wouldn't keel over, right then and there, and let them lose their jobs for letting a 1st die right in front of them.

But that was about as much as I was willing to do. The entire ride back to Midgar was non-ceremonious. It didn't matter that everyone on board knew that both Genesis and Angeal, the most major threats to Shin-Ra, were dead. Everyone also understood that another 1st had died that day.

Maybe not on the outside, but on the inside, I surely felt dead.

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So how did everyone like the prologue? I'll only know if you review! ^_^


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